DNI Mission Statement

Our Mission is to implement the community revitalization plans of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI), which espouses development without displacement and includes affordable housing, economic development, open space and other amenities of the Urban Village.

How does the Dudley Neighbors Inc. Land Trust work?

Overview In the fall of 1988, the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) approved Dudley Neighbor’s Inc’s request to become a Massachusetts 121A Corporation. That status allowed DNI to accept the power of eminent domain to acquire privately-owned vacant land in the area designated as the Dudley Triangle. DNI combines vacant lots acquired via eminent domain with City-owned parcels and leases these to private and nonprofit developers for the purpose of building affordable housing consistent with the community’s master plan.DNI is structured as a Community Land Trust (CLT), and as such plays a crucial role in preserving affordable housing and providing residents with a way to control the development process in the neighborhood. DNI leases land initially to developers during construction, and subsequently to individual homeowners, cooperative housing corporations and other forms of limited partnerships.How long is the ground lease agreement good for? Homeowners have a 99-year lease with DNI. If DNI ever decides to sell the land for any reason, they must first offer it to the homeowner on the land. What’s on Dudley Neighbor’s Inc Land trust?-225 units of affordable housing including: 95 units of permanently affordable homeownership, 77 cooperative housing units and 53 rental units-single family moderate income home currently being built by Youth Build Boston -a playground-a mini orchard and community garden-West Cottage Farm and Community Greenhouse, operated by The Food Project-community non-profit office spaceFuture Projects: 1) commercial space (a new 2-3 story building is in the works) 2) Urban Farm as part of partnership with Trust for Public Land and Urban Farming Institute

What if a land trust homeowner wants to sell their home? DNI has the right to buy the home back before the homeowner sells it to anyone else. If DNI and the homeowner agree, a homeowner may sell it on their own but they must sell it to a qualified low-to-moderate income (under 80% of Area Median Income) buyer at or below the Maximum resale price according to the equity calculation. The homeowner works with DNI staff to market the home and sell it to people who have previously expressed interest in buying and already live in the neighborhood. If the home is sold back to the land trust a lottery is conducted with income-qualifying applicants. What is the income range of people that live in the land trust? How does the land trust promote deeply affordable housing?50% of the homeowners on the land trust earn between $20-40k/year. 80% of families earn less than $70k/yr.Because homeowners get a mortgage just for the value of the home and not the land, this reduces their housing costs. The rental and coop units all have either project-based subsidies or vouchers to make them affordable to low-income residents. The land trust partners with CDCs or private developers and then we maintain long-term stewardship of the land. In terms of rental and coop housing the owner/developer is the one who secures financing for the project and manages the properties. There is no special source of funding for housing on a land trust, developers have to find the same sources of funding as for other affordable housing projects.How many foreclosures have occurred on the land trust since inception?Four. All of them happened before 2008. If a bank choses to opt out of the land trust once the house is foreclosed, the new owner would have to pay market rate ground lease fees as opposed to the affordable ground lease fee CLT homeowners pay. To date, all banks have opted to keep the foreclosed homes on the last trust. What kind of training and support do homeowners get from DNI? In order to buy a land trust home you must attend at least two 2-hour trainings about the land trust structure and ground lease. There is ample opportunity to meet one on one with any questions potential homeowners may have. After buying the house, DNI provides support by organizing quarterly (or as needed) workshops on different topics including home maintenance and repair, refinancing, financial planning, taxes and residential tax exemption and anything that homeowners are looking for. Staff at DNI work with homeowners on any concerns they have including job searching, referrals for home repairs, programs for children and youth, and more.